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Information on Rental Housing Inspection ProgramVision News - March 7, 2003 The City of Waukegan Administration instituted an inspection program of rental properties to guarantee that renters have a safe and decent place to live and to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, regardless of race or national origin. The intention of the program is to annually inspect all rental properties to ascertain that they are in compliance with the required Property Maintenance Codes (BOCA), with Housing Safety Codes (NFPA) and the Zoning Department of Waukegan. There exist approximately 12,000 rental units on 1,800 properties in the City. The City designated a certain number of properties to be inspected each month. The owner of the property will be notified 30 days prior of the date and time his property will be inspected and the owner will notify his tenants and obtain their permission for the inspection. A renter has the right to refuse permission for the inspection. The City has the ability to obtain authorization issued by a Judge of the Circuit Court in order to complete the inspection. Upon completion of the inspection, the owner will receive a letter informing him that his property has passed rental inspection and he will receive a license from the City of Waukegan; or if he did not pass inspection, he will receive a letter of noncompliance with a period of 30 days in which to make the necessary required repairs. The Inspection Program is taken from a model of an inspection program used in other communities in the State of Illinois which has been in effect for many years. These programs have been tried in court and have been found to be constitutional if they are administered in an equal and just manner. What the Inspectors Look For Our inspectors are not looking through your personal belongings; they are not looking for contraband or illegal activities. The inspectors will hand you a list as proof of what they are looking for, that contains the following: Bathrooms: Toilet, bathtubs/showers, sinks, electrical outlets and lights should be in proper working condition. Walls, doors, floors and ceilings should be in good condition and ventilation adequate. Kitchens: Refrigerators, adequate water pressure, proper voltage in electrical outlets and working windows. Living Rooms: At least two electrical outlets. Ventilation, floors, walls, ceilings and doors should be in good working order. Bedrooms: At least two working electrical outlets. Windows must be in good condition as well as ceilings, walls, floors and doors. Basements: Bedrooms are not permitted in basements unless there are adequate windows and/or adequate doors that lead directly to the outside. Heating systems should be in order. There may not be improper storage around the furnace and water heaters. There should be an electrical panel with adequate fuses and adequate ceiling height. Attics: Is it being used as a bedroom? Exteriors: All of the windows must be in good condition, the gutters in place, chimneys, roofs, porches and outbuildings in good repair without cracked or peeling paint; adequate parking for all automobiles, appropriate maintenance of lawns, fences in good repair and visible house numbers. Other General Articles: Insect infestation, mice, working smoke alarms, excessive use of extension cords. We will not inspect your dressers or personal belongings. We will inspect your closets but only to ascertain if there is light and that the light fixture be the correct type. We will look under the beds only to determine if there are electrical outlets on the walls. The renter has the right to refuse the inspection of his rental space. The City can obtain a judge's authorization to perform the inspection. When the authorization has been obtained, the inspector will contact the owner of the property to set a date in order to perform the inspection. This authorization states that the inspector will be accompanied by a police officer in order to perform the inspection. IF the police officer finds illegal activity or contraband while he is in the rental unit, he is permitted by law as a law enforcement officer to take appropriate action. Code Enforcement Officers are not law enforcement officers and they are not in your rental unit to look for signs of illegal activity or contraband. ZONING: All of the properties within the Waukegan City limits are under the jurisdiction of the Zoning Ordinances of Waukegan. Zoning is a master plan of the City by which it is determined in what manner property may be used. For example; there are residential zones, business zones, industrial zones and commercial zones. Residential zones range from R1 (single family) to R8 (multi-family). The City is divided in these types of zones in order to control the types of businesses and residential density which are permitted in our neighborhoods. DENSITY: The Building Code (BOCA), the Property Maintenance Code (BOCA) and the Housing Safety Code (NFPA) list everything needed to determine density measurements in bedrooms in residential buildings. The codes determine that a minimum of 70 square feet are required per person: 100 square feet for two people and 50 square feet for each additional person sleeping in a bedroom. If they see an excessive number of beds in one unit, or other evidence of excessive people living in a unit, the inspectors will set another date for a follow-up inspection to measure the sleeping areas and to determine, in accordance with codes, the appropriate number of individuals who are permitted to live there. Our inspection program is designed to comply justly and equally with the codes without consideration to any ethnic origin.
Two problems of excess inhabitants 49% of the violations are related to kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms; 16% common interior areas, such as basements and hallways; 35% were related to inoperable windows, windows, cracked paint or incomplete exterior siding, or garbage on the lawn. The beneficiaries of this inspection program will be those individuals who rent units in the City of Waukegan. They will have the security of knowing that the apartment they rent is in compliance with the codes and ordinances which the owners of rental properties are responsible to maintain.
Anything that is immediately visible or belonging to adjacent properties with their main placement on the property, or the air space above a property is considered to be in "plain site" and can be inspected without authorization. Renters should try to work with the owners and the Code Inspectors to make arrangements to complete the inspections within a reasonable time frame. Code Violation Processing Code complaints can be resolved without formal charges of a violation. However, if there is an official claim, the owner or the renter may be ordered to appear at a hearing to respond to the complaint. This section deals with how to handle these situations. At a hearing and in court, evidence is presented by the Code Enforcement Officer and by the person accused of the code violation. The judge that presides over the hearing will make a decision based on the presented testimony. If English is not the primary language, you should ask for an interpreter and/or make arrangements for someone to accompany you to interpret what is being said to you. For more information, call the Fair Housing Center of Lake County at (847) 336-4247. (Press Release from the City of Waukegan, edited for reasons of space. If you want more complete information, you may call the Administrative offices of the City of Waukegan.) |
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